That Mysterious Realm
by Raven's Secret
Summary: Ben has been having nightmares, and they are getting progressively worse. Ben's running out of time. Who, or what, is causing the nightmares? Will the trio be able to find the answer before the dreams kill Ben? Why am I asking you all these questions?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Muhaha, my first Ben 10 fanfic. I've been a fan of the show for a year or so now, but never really heavy duty like Teen Titans. However, with the new show Ben 10: Alien Force, I decided to watch season's 1-4 of Ben 10 online, just to see where all the references were coming from. I fell in love with it instantly. Ben 10, you have a new devotee!**

**Disclaimer: So what if I don't own them? If I did…I don't think I would change anything.**

* * *

Ben moaned lightly, rolling onto his side. Blankets tangled around his ankles and flopped over his hips lightly, threatening to fall off of the bunk bed. Slowly, they inched towards the edge, only to be thrust back onto the mattress by the boy's tense fists. His knuckles were white with the strong grip, his arms shaking slightly. A stray bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. His breathing became labored, the darkness of the room pressing on his sleeping form like an anvil. And with a jerk, it was all over.

The brown-haired boy shot up, a scream bursting through the air. The sound of his skull hitting the roof of the Rust Bucket followed quickly behind, waking both Gwen and his grandfather. While the red head banged on the roof of her bed in protest, the elderly man walked earnestly towards him.

"Ben, is everything alright?" He asked, worry etched in his facial features.

Ben didn't answer. He simply lay on his bed, hands gripping each other tightly, wondering just what that nightmare was all about. Truthfully, he couldn't remember a speck of it. The only remnant of the nightmare was the sheer terror of falling back asleep, and the bruise on his forehead from hitting the roof. A slight tremor flowed through his body. He pulled his blanket up over his shoulders, quivering with fear.

"Ben, can you hear me?" Max rested a hand on the boy's shoulder, jostling him a little bit.

The young boy shook relentlessly, clutching the blanket closer to his chin. He rolled onto his side, and fell back asleep. Looking worried, Max turned around and went back to bed. Gwen gave one final groan before thrusting her pillow over her ears and falling back asleep.

* * *

It wasn't until sunrise that Ben woke up again. And it wasn't until Gwen yelled at him to wake up two hours later that he realized he wasn't tired. In fact, he had never felt more awake in his entire life. Okay, so there was that one time he found his mother's stash of coffee and decided to drink nearly a gallon of it…literally. But that was a different kind of awake. This time, there were no chemicals reacting with the neurons in his brain. He wasn't high off of caffeine, he wasn't staring at a video game, and he most certainly wasn't kicking bad guy butt. So why was it that his eyelids weren't heavy in the slightest? Why was it that he was aware of everything around him?

Shrugging it off, Ben hopped down off of the bunk bed and raced out the door to see what was for breakfast. With a quick, reassuring glance at the Omnitrix, Ben sat down at the picnic table and picked up his fork and knife.

"So Grandpa, what's for breakfast?" The boy quipped eagerly.

His grandfather simply smiled and presented him with a plate full of God knew what. The only thing Ben could really be sure about it was that it was alive, and quite eager to get off of his plate. With a couple of stringy tentacles, it crawled off of the dinnerware and began to wriggle across the wood. Tsking to himself, Max took his knife and drove it through the head of the creature. At least, Ben thought it was the head. Plopping it back on his grandson's plate, Max beamed.

"Don't let that squid crawl away now. It'll be no good to you if it's gone."

"Grandpa, are you _really _sure that thing's a squid?" Ben grimaced.

"Sure I'm sure. Now dig in." Without hesitation, Max listened to his own instructions and shoved his helping of squid into his mouth. Still chewing, he took his fork and pointed at Ben's animal. "The eyeballs are the best." He said, his voice muffled.

"I'm not all that hungry." Ben groaned, pushing the plate away. "I'll just get some cereal or something." Within moments, the child was back in the Rust Bucket, gasping for breath.

"That thing stinks!" He screamed to no one in particular, waving his hand in front of his nose.

"Tell me about it." A voice rose from behind the passenger's seat of the RV.

"Oh, hey Gwen." Ben muttered, reaching for the cereal in one of the upper cabinets. "Did you eat that thing Grandpa had?"

"Are you kidding me? I'm all for sushi, but I prefer my food be dead before I eat it."

"So if you see a cow on the side of the road, can you not eat beef?" Ben smirked.

"You're such a dweeb." Gwen stifled a yawn and lowered down in the seat.

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"You sound like such a baby when you say that." Ben's cousin groaned as she leaned the seat back.

"According to you, everything that comes out of my mouth sounds like something a baby would say."

"That's true." The red head sighed and rolled over, closing her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked casually. "You look pretty tired."

"Well, with you screaming all night long, it's kind of hard to get any good sleep." Gwen snapped.

"I never screamed." Ben insisted.

"You probably don't remember it. You never really woke up anyway." Gwen shrugged. "Even so. Do you know how hard it is for me to get back to sleep with a wake up call like that?"

"Alarm clocks must be a pain for you then, huh?" Ben mocked.

"No, they're predictable. You, on the other hand, are neither set to a certain time, nor do you have an OFF button."

"I'm sure you'd like to create one."

"You have no idea."

With a final roll of his eyes, Ben poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat down. As he ate, memories of that night's nightmare flicked through his mind. But just as quickly as they arose, they vanished, leaving him to scream bloody murder. And then there was black.

After what seemed like a few moments, Ben became vaguely aware of someone shaking him. He looked around his blurry surroundings, searching for whomever, or whatever, had a strong hold of his shoulder. Through the fog, he could barely make out the shapes of his cousin and grandfather, both calling his name relentlessly. He moaned lightly, weakly trying to brush his cousin's hand away. He could hear Gwen's voice, but it was distant and close at the same time, as though she were in a bubble or behind a curtain.

"Benjamin Tennyson, if you don't answer me right now I'm calling an ambulance. And I'll make sure they give you plenty of shots."

Ben hated shots, and the last thing he wanted was a lot of those, courtesy his cousin. And, knowing her, they'd be shots for rabies or something like that. Glaring at her as best as he could, he pushed her away.

"Don't you dare." He mustered.

"That's better. Now, mind telling me just what the heck happened?" As Gwen spoke, her voice faded, and once again, all went dark.

**

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Author's Note: Pathetically short, I know. But don't worry. The chapters will get longer, I promise! And I'm sorry for the rush of that first part. I was in a rush to write it before last night's dream faded. That's right, my dear readers. Raven's Secret gets all of her ideas from dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Well, I hope this chapter makes up for the crappiness of that last one

**Author's Note: Well, I hope this chapter makes up for the crappiness of that last one. **

**Disclaimer: I do own them. The company just doesn't want you to know that. .**

* * *

Darkness surrounded him. It was silent, yet chaotic. His heart raced, his head pounded, his entire body screamed for him to get out of the black. And he was spinning. He was spinning in a giant purple swirl. He fell deeper and deeper into the swirl, gaining speed as he went. He screamed, but he couldn't make a sound. He tried to run, but his legs were being absorbed by some black mush, and that mush was quickly crawling up his legs. It engulfed his abdomen, his arms, his neck, his entire head. He tried to hold his breath, but like all mortals, he needed air. He gasped, sucking the black aqueous gel into his lungs. He coughed and coughed, but he couldn't stop breathing in the liquid-like substance. His chest hurt. His entire body hurt.

With a burst of adrenaline, he leapt away from the substance and ran. He was shaking terribly, and felt like he was freezing and burning to death at the same time. He had to get out of there. It was that horrible place that was making him feel like this. But it chased him. The purple swirl, with the mysterious realm inside, followed him. It gained on him, threatening to eat him once more. He couldn't allow that. He jumped again. But he never landed. Instead, he hovered for a moment in the air before shooting off towards the distance. Looking behind him, he could see the purple swirl retreat, and he wondered. Just what was it retreating from?

When he looked ahead once more, he knew. It was a silhouette, but even that was frightening enough to make him cry. He couldn't make out the shape, but as he drew closer, his body hurt all the worse. His head felt like it was about to tear itself apart with pain. His heart acted as though it was going to rip through his chest and abandon him. And his lungs pushed to be coughed up, leaving their master to suffocate.

And still he screamed. And still no sound was made.

* * *

Max was worried. It was as simple as that. Just that night, Ben had suffered from what seemed like a Night Terror. And now, it was happening again. Only it was daylight. Ben hadn't taken three bites of his cereal yet, for crying out loud. Could someone really have a Night Terror during the day? Max didn't know that much about Night Terrors, but he was pretty sure that couldn't happen. All he really knew was that they were nothing like nightmares, and that Ben was suffering from them.

When the boy once again fell asleep, the elderly man gently picked him up. With Gwen looking on, he carried the child to the bunk beds and placed him on the top bunk. He folded the covers over the brown-haired child and backed away a few steps, looking at him fearfully. Something was definitely wrong.

"Grandpa, is Ben okay?" He heard his granddaughter ask him.

"I don't know, Gwen." He admitted, never looking at the girl.

"What do you think is wrong?"

"I'm not sure. I thought he was having Night Terrors, but I don't know if those can happen during the day."

"What's a Night Terror?" The redhead asked curiously.

Max breathed in, preparing for his science lesson. Or would it be a health lesson? No matter. "A Night Terror is a temporary inability to regain full consciousness. The person wakes abruptly from slow-wave sleep, usually by gasping, moaning, or screaming. It's often impossible to fully awaken the person, and after the episode the sufferer normally settles back to sleep without waking. A night terror can rarely be recalled by the person."

Gwen looked worriedly at her cousin. "Will he be alright?"

Max nodded. "He should be. Cases in children his age are a bit uncommon, and if they last too long, we'll have to get him some medication. But the Terrors shouldn't hurt him."

Almost as soon as the grandfather finished reassuring his granddaughter, Ben screamed. His muscles stiffened, and his body clenched into the fetal position. He gasped for breath, and droplets of sweat skidded down his face. For a moment, his body seemed to break free of the stiffness, only to snap into another position, stiff as a board. His teeth ground together and his eyes squinted shut. And all the while, he was screaming.

Max rushed to wake him, shaking him relentlessly. Gwen called out his name and pinched his ankle a couple times, praying that would wake him up. When it didn't, she backed away, giving her grandpa room. Max called out to his grandson. He shook him, he massaged his painfully taunt muscles, and he tried to get him out of the rigid arc his body had created.

* * *

With a shout, Ben's head left the pillow. He shot into a sit-up position. For a moment, he looked around wearily. Pain echoed through his body. His head pulsed along with his vision. Every muscle screamed, his heart continued to pound, his lungs continued to gasp for oxygen that he just couldn't get enough of, and his fingers twitched with pain. With one final, unsteady breath, Ben let the pain overcome him, and he passed out.

* * *

When Ben once again fainted, Max caught him. He lifted the child daintily off of the upper bunk and placed him on the lower one.

"Gwen, make sure he doesn't fall off." The 60-year-old quietly commanded his granddaughter.

"Why? He's never rolled off before." Despite her question, she sat down on the floor next to her bed and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"I'm taking him to the hospital."

That said, the retiree hopped into the driver's seat, started the RV up, and quickly made his way down the highway. He drove like a mad man, and Gwen made sure to tell him so. As he sped down the road, she prayed they wouldn't be stopped by the cops. But of course, they were. Just their luck. They hadn't been on the road ten minutes before the lights flashed behind them. Max Tennyson stopped on the side of the road, albeit unwillingly. He tapped the wheel impatiently as the cop readied himself for the usual speeding ticket.

Once the officer reached the car, Max rolled the window down. Though Gwen couldn't quite hear what he was saying, she could vaguely read his gesticulations. Every now and again he would point to Ben, then motion in the direction of the hospital. When Max stood up, Gwen did as well. She wanted to know what was going on. When her grandfather reached to pick up Ben, she quickly stepped out of the way and stayed on his heels as he brought the unconscious youth out of the Rust Bucket.

As the police officer inspected Ben, Gwen inspected the police officer. He seemed to be legit. No reason for him not to be. He didn't say a word as he looked the boy over, and his eyes never focused on the Omnitrix. With a nod to Max, the cop walked back to his car and waited.

"Come on, he's going to give us an escort to the hospital." Max informed his granddaughter as he rested Ben back on the bunk bed.

Gwen nodded, and readied herself for the high speed, mini parade. She could hear the cop's siren blaring, and watched as he pulled ahead, her grandfather close behind. As the two vehicles stormed down the highway, she clutched her cousin tightly.

"Hey, that hurts you know." A quiet voice rose from behind her.

Gwen jumped and turned to look at her younger cousin. His eyes were a bit glazed over with sleep, but he didn't seem any worse for wear.

"You about scared me and Grandpa to death you know!" She scolded him, punching him lightly on the arm.

He returned the attack with a bit more force. "What are you talking about?"

"You're little Terror fest fifteen minutes ago." Gwen said, crossing her arms.

Ben simply cocked his head.

"You're such a duface, you know that?"

He glared at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Gwen's hardened face slowly broke. Her muscles relaxed, and she sat next to her cousin. "Grandpa says you've been having Night Terrors. You left us no choice, Ben."

"I don't like that smirk you're giving me…" He said, scooting away a few inches.

"You shouldn't." Her smirk only grew.

Ben groaned and looked out the window. "Hey, why are we going so fast?"

"Oh, you'll see." His cousin teased.

"Seriously. Is something going on? Do I need to go Hero?" Ben instinctively reached for the watch.

"No, no. Nothing like that."

"Then what is it!"

"Like I said, you'll see."

And he did. Not five minutes later, the RV skidded to a stop near the Emergency Room entrance of the hospital. When Ben saw the sign, he blanched.

"You took me to a freaking hospital!" He screamed.

"Hey, it wasn't my idea. You're the one who had to go ballistic on Grandpa and me." Gwen shrugged.

Max chose that moment to walk to the back of the vehicle.

"Gwen, is Ben al-"

"Ben's just fine, Grandpa." She said, giving her younger relative another punch in the arm.

"Hey, that hurt." Ben rubbed his shoulder. "Grandpa, why are we at the hospital?"

Max took Ben's hand, helping him stand up. "We're here because we need to get you on some medication."

"Medication?! For what?!" Ben jerked away.

"Now calm down, Ben. You won't get any shots or anything. We just need to find out why you're having Night Terrors, and see if we can't do anything about it." His grandfather explained.

"And what is all this junk about Night Terrors?" Ben looked at his two relatives.

Grandpa Max sighed, and once again went through his entourage of facts about the strange phenomenon. He explained the similarities between the disease and Ben's symptoms, and the one major difference. His were during the day, as well as the night. And finally, his monologue over, Max rested his hand on Ben's shoulder and escorted him to the Emergency Room.

* * *

**Author's Note: That explanation of what a Night Terror is…almost word for word from Wikipedia. I couldn't think of my own way to describe it. –sweat drops-**

**Oh, and the pages breaks will oftentimes signal a change of the point of view or a change in time.**

**And once again, I apologize for the shortness and crappyness of the chapter.**


End file.
